


Trust the Force

by YvonneSilver



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Gen, Jyn's necklace, Kyber Crystals, Universe Alteration: Chirrut gets a lightsaber for that one scene, almost Jedi!Chirrut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 00:54:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9212393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YvonneSilver/pseuds/YvonneSilver
Summary: Talk from Superheroeshad a great point about Jyn’s crystal in their podcast on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. So: what if Chirrut had asked for the crystal a second time?





	

The ship's cargo hold was cramped and warm, what with almost a dozen nervous people crammed into it, but Chirrut hardly noticed it. There was some kind of pressure building in his head, and he knew they were at a critical point in their journey. He lowered his head and focussed.

After a few moments, the pressure lessened. A couple of seconds later, he heard Jyn descending from the cockpit. “We’ve cleared the shield,” she said, keeping her voice even, but Chirrut could hear the relief in her voice, and the building tension underneath it. “We’ve got maybe 10 minutes before we land.”

There were some quiet murmers, as everyone processed that information and started to think what might be waiting for them on the planet below. Chirrut felt Jyn sit down on the crate next to him. Her deliberate breathing - three short huffs in, one long breath out - told him how nervous she was. He leant toward her.

“Trade that necklace for a glimpse into your future.”

She leant away from him - surprised? offended? - but then she let out a short huff of breath, and her voice was humorous when she spoke. “That was the first thing you said to me on Jedha.”

“Yes, you. I’m talking to you.” Chirrut quoted, smiling. “Seems so long ago now, doesn’t it?”

“A lot has happened,” Jyn agreed. They were quiet for a moment. Then, there was some shuffling beside him, and he knew - the way he sometimes just knew - that she had pulled out the crystal from underneath her shirt. “My mother gave this to me.”

“I know. It’s all you have left of your family.” He held out his hand.

 

After a moment, something tapped his palm. Jyn was holding out the crystal on its string, balancing it just above Chirrut’s outstretched hand. Chirrut focussed on the energy he felt pulsing in the crystal in front of him.

“The path we have chosen is not an easy one,” he told Jyn, speaking the words as they came to him. “There is a cost. To repay a debt, to restore balance, we must risk everything. We must lose everything.”

He heard her sharp intake of breath, and he knew this was not enough. He lifted his hand, wrapped his fingers around the crystal, its sharp edges biting into his skin. With his free hand lowered her hand on top of his, and held it there. Her hand was colder than his, but the crystal in his fist was warm, though whether that was from her body heat or its own energy, Chirrut couldn’t tell. He turned to face her, and for a moment he imagined he could see her face, soft and round, with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open as she looked into his blind eyes.

“We are going to succeed,” he declared. “The Force wills it. Trust the Force.”

Her hand went slack in his, and he felt a weight lifting from both of them.

“That’s the last thing she said to me,” Jyn whispered.

He gave her hand a slight squeeze. For a moment, the world had shrunk down to just the two of them, and the kyber crystal that joined them. Then, the stabilisors came on with a roar, signalling that they were about to dock. Above them, he heard Cassian’s footsteps approaching. The war was calling to them. Jyn withdrew her hand, releasing the leather string and leaving the crystal to him.

 

 

Chirrut was lost in thought, turning the crystal over and over in his hand. Only when Baze’s hand landed heavily on his shoulder did he snap out of it. He turned his face so Baze could cup it.

"After all these years," he said reverently, "the Force has led me here to complete my training."

“Owning a kyber crystal doesn’t make you a jedi,” Baze told him firmly.

He was right, of course, but Chirrut couldn't help but argue. “But the crystal is attuned to her, to her family, to her mission. With her conviction and my training...”

“Chirrut,” he grunted sternly.

Chirrut sighed deeply, leaning into Baze's touch. “I know. Last resorts only.” He gave the precious crystal a final squeeze before tucking it safely in his belt pouch.

Baze put his hands on his shoulders and turned him bodily around. “Now pay attention, Cassian is about to give us our orders.”

 

* * *

They fought as hard as they could for as long as they could, but eventually, inevitably, they were pinned down. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of troopers, they sought shelter behind one of the low black buildings at the base of the tower. It was here, when their back was literally against the wall, that Bodhi's message reached them.

“We have to flip it,” the desperate voice of a rebel to Chirrut’s right shouted. “The master switch. It’s on the console over there.”

There was no way they were going to get out from under the cover fire. The single soldier that tried made it no more than two steps before he fell. This was the point where there were no more chances, and Chirrut had already known there would be no way out of this fight. All that was left was to complete this one impossible task.

It was time to use his last hope. The crystal was singing to him. It had been singing to him since the battle started, but it seemed louder now, and Chirrut would not resist its call. It was time.

Chirrut crouched down, his back firmly against the wall, using the ribbed outcrop for cover. With trembling hands, he unscrewed the hilt of his bo staff. He had prepared for this moment for as long as he could remember. He had not expected to reach it while blaster bolts bored into the wall beside him. He secured the stick on his back before reaching into the pouch at his belt.

His shaking stopped the moment his fingers touched the crystal’s smooth sides. Even the sound blaster fire seemed to subside around him. He knew what to do. The sword had been at the ready for a long time, waiting for this exact moment. The crystal clicked easily into the hilt. Chirrut bowed his head, and held the hilt out in front of him. “I am one with the force and the force is with me.”

The weapon came to life with a fierce hum. The blade gave off no heat, but he could sense exactly where it was. Its power seemed to pass through him, filling him up from the inside. He straightened up.  “I am one with the force and the force is with me.”

He kept whispering with each step he took. Somewhere behind him, he heard Baze cry out, but the words seemed like they were coming to him through a dense haze. There was only one thing to do: keep walking. “I am one with the force and the force is with me.”

He moved where the weapon took him, his arms jerking the weapon into place to absorb enemy fire whenever he needed to. The platform could have been no more than ten, fifteen steps from the bunker, but each step carried the weight of the universe. A single failed block, a single misstep, and the galaxy would be forever changed. “I am one with the force and the  force is with me.”

Chirrut didn’t fail. When the loose sand underneath his feet was replaced by firm concrete, he reached out with one hand. The lever was smooth and cold in his hand, and flipped with a clack that seemed to echo through the galaxy. In his other hand, the saber powered off, its purpose fulfilled.

It didn't matter: Chirrut no longer needed the weapon. He had completed his journey. With these twelve steps, wielding the Force as much as being wielded by it, he had reached the enlightenment he had prayed for all his life. He turned his back to his attackers. What came next wouldn't matter. Chirrut smiled.


End file.
